Eric Cantor

Republican Congressional Leaders Back Away From Mitt Romney

Ronald 3 Comments

The reaction of Republican Congressional leaders, including John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Mitch McConnell, and John McCain is far less incendiary than Mitt Romney’s rhetoric on the Libyan tragedy, the death of the American Ambassador to that nation, in the midst of a planned attack by a minority of violent instigators.

Even Paul Ryan, the Vice Presidential running mate, has been cooler in his reaction to the events in the Middle East.

One can tell by their body language and their actual utterances that they are uncomfortable with Romney’s perceived overreaction to the tragedy.

And Ryan is now spending money to insure that he wins his Congressional seat in the First District of Wisconsin, as an insurance policy that he can keep his job in the House of Representatives, if he and Romney fail to win the election.

All the signs are there that Mitt Romney, by every utterance he makes, or his refusal at other times to give details or information, and instead to remain purposely vague, is quickly lengthening the odds against him becoming President.

No one in their right mind should put betting money on him taking the oath of office as the 45th President on January 20, 2013. At best, he will probably be relaxing at one of his many homes on that day, while Barack Obama takes on the burden of a second term that day at 12 Noon!

Republicans In Trouble:Todd Akin and Kevin Yoder— How It Could Hurt Mitt Romney And Paul Ryan!

Ronald 2 Comments

The Republican Party and the Romney-Ryan campaign are reeling from two controversies that could affect not only the party fortunes in November, but also their Presidential campaign.

Republican Senate nominee and Tea Party favorite, Congressman Todd Akin, who is opposed by Senator Claire McCaskill of Missouri, declared yesterday that there was such a thing as “legitimate rape”, but that women should still bring the pregnancy through to birth, causing an uproar, which has led some to demand that the Congressman resign as the Republican Senate nominee.

At the same time, it was revealed by Politico that a group of Republican Congressmen, while in Israel on a “fact finding tour’, got drunk at the Sea of Galilee, and jumped in the water partially clothed, including aides of Eric Cantor and Kevin McCarthy, who are part of the GOP leadership in the House of Representatives. But Kansas Congressman Kevin Yoder, a freshman member, fully stripped and jumped in, and now there arr calls for him to resign, in what has been seen as a major scandal by many! Yoder also has had an incident with a police officer, who stopped him for speeding, and Yoder refused a breathalyzer test, and paid a fine.

It is not that Democratic Congressman or Senators, or other Democratic officeholders, are incapable of similar incidents, but that the Republican Party professes a “holier than thou” attitude on moral issues, and then becomes involved in such controversies.

It will be interesting to see how the extreme right view of abortion, that under no circumstances should abortion be legal in any situation, will cause a controversy for Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan, now that they have declared that rape is an exception where abortion should be allowed, in reaction to the Akin controversy. It also contradicts Ryan’s public stand in his 14 years in the House of Representatives! So we shall see how this all works itself out!

The Rise Of Paul Ryan: Threat To Republican House Leadership If He Loses Vice Presidency!

Ronald 2 Comments

A side effect of Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan’s Vice Presidential candidacy if he and Mitt Romney lose the election to Barack Obama, but the Republican Party keeps control of the House of Representatives, is a challenge to the House leadership as it now stands!

That would likely lead to a move by Ryan, who can run for his Congressional seat while on the ballot for Vice President, to wish to be Speaker of the House, second in line to be President, and to challenge Barack Obama on his agenda much more than Speaker John Boehner!

It would also be a challenge to House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, who very much wishes to be Speaker, and would try to stop Ryan from reaching that office, but having run for Vice President and become a national figure as a result, Ryan would have the edge to overcome both Boehner and Cantor!

So the future of House leadership, if the GOP keeps control, will be very fascinating to watch!

Congress Leaves Business Undone While Campaigning For Reelection: A Disgrace!

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Congress has left DC for a month, in the midst of much business undone, including budgetary bills, unfulfilled judicial and executive appointments, and time spent preventing any action on the economy.

This “experiment” of a GOP House and a Democratic Senate, the first time ever with such a split, has been a total disaster, and the American people need to realize that putting the Republican Party in charge of the budget in the House of Representatives has been a calamity no one could have forseen!

Hopefully, the American people will realize that Barack Obama, celebrating his 51st birthday today, has done his best, and has been stymied by the Republican leadership led by John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan, and the Tea Party movement element in the House of Representatives, including Michele Bachmann, Allen West, and others who would rather use McCarthyite tactics than deal with real issues and problems faced by the American people!

The Split Personality John McCain: Reasonable On Michele Bachmann, Irrational On Cybersecurity!

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Arizona Senator John McCain, the 2008 GOP nominee for President, is a very complex man, who can be seen as having displayed courage, principle, and decency at times, but also a very nasty, temperamental, unreasonable, and irrational man at times.

So recently, McCain demonstrated the “good” side, by condemning Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann for labeling Huma Abedin, an aide to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, as linked to Islamic terrorism, with no evidence or proof of such activity, and therefore acting like a new Joseph McCarthy. McCain has opened up a bitter debate about the controversial Bachmann, with Speaker of the House John Boehner supporting what he said, while House Majority Leader Eric Cantor has supported Bachmann.

This battle could cause splits at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida, a month from now, but McCain is not backing off.

Now, McCain, however, is showing his irrational, unreasonable side by leading the fight against strong legislation to protect computer systems that are responsible for operating the nation’s critical infrastructure!

There are dangers of a crippling cyberattack by terrorists, but McCain is supporting the business community that does not wish to have stronger government regulation to enforce minimum standards on systems that run power plants, air traffic control systems, dams and similar facilities.

Opposition to the Homeland Security Department setting minimum standards of cybersecurity creates a scenario of the possibility of mass casualties or great economic calamity if such a cyberattack were to occur. The US Chambers of Commerce, one of the leading critics of the Obama Administration, is the leader in fighting greater government oversight, and McCain and other Republicans are their willing servants, sad to say!

McCain is acting totally irrational on this matter, and has opened a rift with two Senators usually his best friends, Republican Susan Collins of Maine, and Independent Democrat Joe Lieberman of Connecticut, with Lieberman and McCain becoming engaged in an openly angry exchange at a private meeting of senators and staff members. McCain actually shouted at Lieberman, showing again his infamous temper!

It makes one happy that McCain did not win the Presidency in 2008, but even without winning, he unleashed on America the nightmare of Sarah Palin, who will simply not go away!

So we can applaud McCain when he is right, as on Michele Bachmann’s McCarthyism, but we must condemn him for kowtowing to business interests on the cybersecurity matter!

Irionically, if a cyberattack were to occur, who would get blamed, at least originally? Barack Obama and the national government, even though they are trying to bring about a security system that makes sense, but that conservatives and big business interests are determined to prevent!

Eric Cantor: Promoting His Own Wealth Through Loophole In “Insider Trading” Legislation: A True Mark Of Corruption!

Ronald 2 Comments

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is a true disgrace to the chamber he leads, and is a constant threat to the survival of Speaker John Boehner, should Boehner ever attempt in any way to “go off the reservation”!

Cantor, an extremely ambitious and ruthless politician, has been implicated in a scandal, although his party may not think that it is that, by inserting a loophole in the House version of the STOCK (Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge) Act, which is designed to prevent any advantage for members of Congress in stock market transactions because of “insider’ information available to that institution, and was passed in April, with the purpose of restoring faith in the Congress on the part of the American people.

The manipulation by Cantor was not made evident to its Senate sponsors, Republican Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, who were shocked to discover that Cantor had inserted an exception for spouses and children of Congressional members.

Now under fire, Cantor claims he is willing to make changes in the legislation, but had slipped in these corrupt exceptions with the clear hope of having no one notice it!

For this obvious transgression, Eric Cantor should face investigation and possible censure, but of course, it will not happen.

Still, John Boehner had better have “eagle eyes”, as there is nothing that Eric Cantor will NOT do to advance his own ambitions, and enrich his own pockets and fortune, at the expense of the American people!

Allen West Goes Rogue: Calls 80 Democratic House Members “Communists”! The Rise Of A Black Joseph McCarthy!

Ronald 3 Comments

Florida Congressman Allen West, who defeated Congressman Ron Klein in 2010, and went on a rampage against Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, head of the Democratic National Committee, insulting her in the most despicable terms, is running for a new term in a newly created Congressional district in Northern Palm Beach County, as well as Martin and St Lucie Counties further north.

Holding a town meeting, the former Army Lieutenant Colonel, forced out of the military for his inappropriate behavior against an Iraqi detainee in 2003, went off the deep end literally, accusing 80 members of the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives of being “Communists”, bringing back the ugly reminder of Wisconsin Republican Senator Joseph McCarthy, who ran rampant from February 1950 to December 1954, accusing everyone under the sun of being a Communist or sympathetic toward Communism, promoting the Red Scare, and in so doing, undermining the Truman and Eisenhower Administrations for nearly five years, until he was finally censured for his misbehavior after nearly five years of demagoguery!

Allen West is a literal wingnut, a whacko, a mentally ill person who has had undiagnosed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, and is behaving in a dangerous, aggressive manner, which requires complete denunciation by the House leadership of Speaker John Boehner and Majority Leader Eric Cantor, as well as GOP Presidential nominee Mitt Romney!

But will this happen? Of course NOT, and the conservative radio talk show hosts and Fox News Channel will take advantage of his irresponsibility to spread the conspiracy theory and try to connect it to Barack Obama as well!

The lunatic fringe of the party is backing Allen West as a possible Vice Presidential nominee, with Sarah Palin and Herman Cain endorsing West for VP. Is there a need to say anything after that statement, that these two leading examples of totally unqualified political leaders would endorse someone just as dangerous and reckless as they are?

Were Romney to pick West, which he will not do, then we would have to order men in white coats to take him forcibly to a mental hospital for observation and testing!

Romney is not that impractical and crazy, but a repudiation by Romney and a censure of West in the House of Representatives, and a chorus of criticism from party members in the US Senate should be seen as a question of character and legitimacy, if the Republican party is to retain ANY respect with the American people!

Allen West needs to be silenced by the voters of his new congressional district, who have the great alternative of Patrick Erin Murphy to represent them in the 113th Congress!

Everyone, no matter where one lives, needs to contribute to Murphy to save that district and the nation any more public attention paid to this lunatic, dangerous, unstable, reckless excuse for a Congressman! The defeat of Allen West needs to be on the front burner for the next seven months!

Super Tuesday: End Of The GOP Presidential Race? Don’t Bet On It!

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Super Tuesday should see the end of the Presidential nomination race, as it often has in recent Presidential cycles.

However, it was not so for the Democrats in 2008, and it is unlikely that it will be the end of the Republican race today.

There is a good chance that Rick Santorum will win Ohio, Tennessee and Oklahoma tonight, and that Newt Gingrich will win the biggest state in delegate totals, Georgia.

If that happens, or most of it, then Mitt Romney cannot “close the deal” and start to look to the Fall Presidential campaign, and if that is what happens, then the Republicans face further turmoil and division.

The Republican Party establishment can only hope that the race is over, and House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia, and Oklahoma Senator Tom Coburn both endorsed Romney last weekend, hoping that the blood letting among the candidates would be over.

It is still reality that Mitt Romney remains unpopular among many Republicans, and many still wish there was some alternative to those in the race.

It will be a gargantuan task for Mitt Romney to keep discontented people in the party, as well as convince Independents and women in large numbers, to vote for him. The likelihood of success is very low!

The Republican Party And Rush Limbaugh: Time For Divorce!

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The Republican Party leaders are a bunch of total wimps, unwilling to condemn Rush Limbaugh for his outrageous attack on Sandra Fluke for her testimony on contraceptives.

What is wrong with Speaker of the House John Boehner, House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, and Presidential candidates Mitt Romney, Newt Gingrich, and Rick Santorum?

So far, only THREE Republicans have been willing to go out of their way to condemn Limbaugh–Texas Congressman Ron Paul, Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown, and Arizona Senator John McCain, the 2008 GOP Presidential nominee.

The Republican Party has for too long allowed Rush to dictate to them, and many have apologized to him in the past, absolutely outrageous behavior on their part.

Rush Limbaugh has been a bully, a disgrace to talk radio, an embarrassment to civil discourse, and has been given too much license to intimidate critics.

The GOP leadership needs to come out and openly condemn him, just as now eleven advertisers have withdrawn from his program. If not, the voters need to punish them and make their party a marginal party of insensitive, unprincipled male chauvinists!

And Limbaugh’s action to slander Sandra Fluke must lead to a pro bono law suit, not with the intention to enrich Sandra Fluke, but use what is gained in the law suit to support progressive causes that Rush Limbaugh hates. That would be just punishment for this excuse for a human being, who needs to be taken off the air for his transgressions!

The Leading US House Race For 2012: Allen West Vs. Patrick Murphy In Florida

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Probably the most controversial race in 2012 for the House Of Representatives is also the second highest in raising of funds–the race in the new 18th Congressional District in northern Palm Beach County, Martin County, and St. Lucie County between Congressman Allen West (R) and his challenger Patrick Murphy (D).

West, one of two African American Republicans in the House, was elected in what is now the 22nd Congressional District in Palm Beach and Broward Counties, but has decided to compete in a district likely to be more favorable to his right wing conservative and confrontational views. West NEVER is diplomatic, as shown when he condemned Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, the head of the Democratic National Committee, as well as the House member from the 20th Congressional District in Broward County and Miami-Dade County, in the strongest possible and insulting terms, and refused to apologize for his rude language, particularly toward a woman!

West served in the Iraq War, but was forced out of the military over his rough treatment of a detainee, and now spews forth his right wing extremism, and has no problem raising money, having gained a total at this time of $5.8 million, more than any House member except Speaker of the House John Boehner. Imagine, he has raised more than House Majority Leader Eric Cantor of Virginia, Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp of Michigan, and Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, the leading figures in the House leadership outside of Speaker Boehner.

This race represents a major challenge for Democrat Patrick Murphy, who operates a company that cleans up oil spills, and has raised $1.42 million so far.

The 28 year old Murphy could be, if elected, the youngest member of the House, unless Ilya Sherman in the 10th Congressional District in Illinois is elected, who is slightly younger than Murphy.

Anyone who wants to see West removed from the House of Representatives should contribute to the Murphy campaign, in what will become the most expensive House race in the entire nation.